Hayate No Gotoku: Branching Paths
by Dragonkey258
Summary: A time where Nagi couldn't control her temper. An incident where Hayate had no control. So what happens to him now?
1. Prologue: Beginning of Branching

Prologue: The Start of The Distortion

"I see," Nagi Sanzenin, the young heiress to the overly wealthy Sanzenin family, said, her blonde head down as her small body was cloaked in a red malicious aura that took the shape of a fox head.

Around her, there were three different reactions. Her butler, one Hayate Ayasaki, was having a panic attack, wondering just what he done to upset his lady now. Her friend, Isumi Saginomiya, took her temper tantrum in stride, yet idly wondering if she was being possessed by a demon lord. Her fiancé, Wataru Tachibana, was choking on the air due to being so close to such killing intent, and was seriously considering calling his uncle to check for any Undead that Nagi may have accidentally picked up.

After several tense minutes, Nagi cried out, "Isumi! I sell Hayate to you for 150,000,000 Yen!"

"Ojou-sama!" Hayate cried out, reeling as if he'd been physically struck by her words. "Why! What did I do to deserve this!"

"Oi, Nagi!" Wataru hissed. "Isn't this going too far?"

However, Isumi's reaction had shocked them all.

The kimono clad girl snapped her fingers, and a servant appeared, bearing pen a small check book. After writing it out, she lifted the financial document into the air and let it fly to Nagi's feet.

"I accept your offer," the Saginomiya heiress said, smiling.

It was only then that Nagi had realized her mistake. Sad, isn't it?

_*_(Elsewhere)*

"AND THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Narutaki yelled. "DECADE!"

Tsukasa Kadoya and Natsumi Hikari looked at the raging prophet from their tea break.

"You say something?"

* * *

_This can't end well..._


	2. Chapter 1: Mandatory Exposition

Chapter 1: Mandatory Exposition

It had a week after the event.

Lives had been altered. Personalities had been changed. Characters became out of character. Even-!

"GET ON WITH THE DAMN STORY ALREADY!"

-Ahem-

Hayate, much to his credit, recovered from his sudden change in masters rather quickly. However, his normally content smile now seemed hollow, despite Isumi's best efforts. He pushed himself into his work, doing more than what was he was called to do. He cooked with all the chefs, he cleaned better than the maids, he tended to the gardens more so than the gardeners, and even handled the estate's security just like a military operation, all while tending to Isumi whenever she called. On the times he was given off, he focused on training, often pushing himself to the point where he seemed dead on his feet.

Isumi was trying to bring her new butler back to his old self, but it was a losing battle. She was happy that she had her 'Hayate-sama' as her butler, but she wanted the one that had been by Nagi's side.

Nagi had locked herself in her room, barely allowing food to be brought to her. At times Maria could hear her young master crying, and even tried to bring Hayate back to the mansion. Alas, her effors were for naught, as all the times she went there, he was either too busy to notice her or nearly dead from overwork.

Wataru was, in a way, similar to Nagi. Nursing his broken and betrayed heart, the young video store owner had closed shop for the week, choosing to stay in his room. Saki had tried to bring her young master to her senses, but he would just curl up in his futon every time she approached him.

Yes…a truly depressing scene.

-A Month After the Event-

Hayate was by the hearth, slipping on his new shoes. Seeing as he was the new butler to the Saginomiya, Isumi had given him a new outfit. Gone was the original butler outfit, but replaced with white overcoat with ornate silver decorations over the arms and back, over a black Chinese stylized shirt and black pants. His new shoes were little more than slip-ons, simple, yet efficient for him.

"Hayate-kun," a voice called from behind him. He turned around to see one of the three original butlers, now just mere house protectors, walking up to him.

"Yes, Alviss-san?" he asked, adjusting his coat.

"Will you be alright today?" Alviss asked, looking concerned.

The debt-ridden butler had said nothing as he picked up his bag and turned away from him. "I'll be fine. It was bound to come eventually, and it'd be better to move ahead rather than run away."

Alviss said nothing, watching him leave to pick up the young mistress for classes. "He hides his pain well," he commented.

*(At the Tachibana Residence)*

"Sir!" Saki called from the kitchen, wrapping up the bento she had made for her young charge. "Are you ready yet? You're going to be late!" With a yell of, "Coming!" she allowed herself a small sigh of relief.

'Its good to see that Wataru's gotten better,' the maid thought, smiling.

Upstairs, the Tachibana video store owner straightened his tie in front of the mirror. Taru-Taru, the young kitten he had cared for when he was younger, watched as her master gather his belongings.

"Are you sure you won't need me for today?" the small cat asked.

Yes, the cat can talk. Deal with it and move on.

"I'll be fine, Taru-chan," Wataru said, slipping into his school blazer from his desk. Scratching the small feline's ears, he continued, "Thanks for the thought."

"Don't mention it," Taru said, purring. "Though even if you run into trouble, you know what to do."

"Yeah," Wataru said, recalling the memory.

And to all those who were hoping for a flash back, that shall not happen. Perhaps some other time.

*(At the Sanzenin Manion)*

"Nagi?" Maria asked, looking shocked at what the young heiress was doing. "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" Nagi asked, straightening her stalkings. "I'm going to school."

Needless to say, Maria went over to the calendar, consulted star charts, looked over various prophecies, and even set up called the SP's to go on full alert.

To those of you unfamiliar with the 'Hayate no Gotoku', Nagi Sanzenin is a type of girl who absolutely hates going to school. Instead, she would prefer to stay home, play video games, read manga, watch anime, draw her own manga, or generally loaf around the house. Therefore, for the head maid to see her charge getting ready for school was quite surprising.

"May I ask why?" the maid asked, yet already having an inkling.

"No real reason," Nagi responded, earning a look from the maid. "I'm just bored with staying at home."

"I…see," Maria said, sweatdropping. Again, completely out of character for Nagi.

Inwardly, she knew it was to see the former butler, Hayate Ayasaki. Maria allowed herself a small sigh as she recalled the times she had gone to see him, but with little or no success. She had to admit, it was much less lively without him.

"Oi, Nagi!" a voice called out. Turning to the doorway, the two residents of the mansion found the self-proclaimed queen of slapstick comedy, Sakuya Aizawa, standing there, clad in the Hakuou Academy uniform.

"Sakuya-san?" Maria asked, _very _confused. "Why…?"

Nagi said nothing, but just gave her a small tilt of acknowledgement and walked out of the room.

"Old man Mikado wanted me to transfer," Sakuya said, watching the smaller blonde's back with a sad look. "She may not look like it, but she's fragile."

Looking over her charge again, she sweatdropped at the sight. Her expression was empty, her eyes were unfocused, and her hair was unkempt.

'I think that much is obvious.'

*(At Hakuou Academy)*

Hayate led his young charge through the crowds, holding onto her hand. Completely not noticing Isumi's blush, he gently squeezed her hand, which brought a blush to her face as she looked up.

"Ano, Ojou-sama?" he said, a bit confused. "We've arrived at your lecture hall."

"Ah, thank you, Hayate-sama," the small demon buster said, rushing into the class room.

Yup, Isumi is taking college level classes at 14. Truly an amazing young woman.

As he walked the other way, Hayate mused about his new home for the first time. The family was nice to him, especially the branch family members. The servants were at best, friendly, but at worst, annoying. Lost in his own thoughts, the debt-ridden butler missed a shadowy figure stalking him from behind a corner.

"Yen for your thoughts?" a regal voice said from behind him.

Hayate whipped around to see one Himuro Saeki, butler to the Oukouchi family, and Kaede Nonohara, butler to the Azumamiya family, approaching him. Himuro, as usual, sported a rose, and Nonohara, his bokken.

"Can I help you two gentlemen?" Hayate said, his face becoming cold.

"Now, now, Hayate-kun," Himuro said, holding his hands up in a placating manner. "No need to be so defensive. Aren't we all," he continued, his free hand going into his jacket pocket, and bringing out ruby studded card that had a rose design on the back. "butlers?"

Hayate shifted his eyes to see Nonohara doing the same, except holding a card that was dark red. Still tense, he pulled out his own card, made out of black diamond.

"That's an interesting card," Nonohara commented. "Where'd you get it?"

"Ojou-sama thought it prudent to give me this," Hayate said.

"Interesting," Himuro said, putting his card away.

"Oh, and by the way, Hayate-kun," Nonohara said, as he and Hayate did the same. "I heard a rumor about you."

"What rumor?" the blue haired butler asked.

"That you were traded away due to your incompetence," Himuro answered. "Care to com-!"

His words were cut short by a sudden blast of killing intent. Opening his eyes, Himuro could make out a venomous purple aura that seemed to grow with each passing second.

"I don't know where you heard these rumors," Hayate said, his eyes down. After a second, the aura seemed to flare before shrinking back down and he lifted his head, the forced kind look replaced with a dark and murderous glare. "But rest assured, they are false."

With that said, he turned and walked away.

"That was unnecessary, Nonohara-kun," Himuro said, glaring at his fellow butler. "We both knew it was a false fabrication of the story."

"I know," the white haired butler said. "I just wanted to see his reaction."

Unnoticed by the two, the shadowy figure from behind the corner smirked.

*(At class)*

"Ne, ne! Hayata-kun!" Izumi Segawa yelled, running up to him, closely followed by Riza Asakaze and Miki Hanabishi.

"May I help you?" Hayate asked, already dreading what the three could possible want.

"Is it true that you've become a demon hunter?" Miki asked.

"Is it true that you're into cross dressing?" Izumi asked.

"Is it true that you're going to become a bancho?" Risa asked.

Hayate didn't say anything. He just sighed.

* * *

_Edited Feb 9, 2011. _

_Thanks to xSuchAFoolx for pointing out the error. _


	3. Chapter 2: New Hayate, New Powers

_To everyone out there in Reviewer Land, I need a beta to help me write out battle scenes, and perhaps a whip of comedy here and there. Any takers?_

* * *

Chapter 2: New Hayate, new skills

_"Ne, ne! Hayata-kun!" Izumi Segawa yelled, running up to him, closely followed by Riza Asakaze and Miki Hanabishi. _

_"May I help you?" Hayate asked, already dreading what the two could possible want. _

_"Is it true that you've become a demon hunter?" Miki asked._

_"Is it true that you're into cross dressing?" Izumi asked. _

_"Is it true that you're going to become a bancho?" Izumi asked._

After a sigh, Hayate replied, "Girls, just so you know, none of those rumors are true," waving them off.

"Then how do you explain these?" Miki asked, whipping out pictures of him in a catgirl outfit, then in a high school girl uniform, and finally a priestess get up.

Almost immediately, the pictures were ripped from her hands, cut into small pieces and burned to ash.

"Hanabishi-san," Hayate started, his eyes hidden behind his bangs, a fiery red aura surrounding him. "Where did you get those pictures?"

"Ah," Miki started, very afraid.

"Ano," Izumi began, backing up slightly, sweating profusely.

"Well?" Hayate asked, a demonic samurai taking form from his aura.

"We found on the Internet and printed them out!" Risa cried out, freaking out when the samurai drew its blade.

"Forgive us!" the three cried, bowing to him.

Almost immediately, the samurai made of malicious aura disappeared, and the student council trio found that they could breathe again. "Its alright," the butler said, walking past them with the smile back on his face. "Just know that not everything on the Internet is true, okay?"

As he walked away, the three fell on their knees, energy wasted.

"I thought I was gonna die," Izumi wailed.

"Yeah, who knew that Hayata-kun would get so upset over small pictures?" Risa asked, watching at his back.

Miki said nothing, but watched the butler's back as he walked to his seat, where the other students had given him a wide berth.

_'Why isn't he here with Nagi-chan?'_ she thought.

Ten minutes later, one Yukijo Katsura, followed by her assistant Shiori Makimura, came into the room. "Alright, settle down everyone," she said, trying to get home room started on time for once. When the noise showed no drop in level, she yelled, "SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN YA LITTLE BRATS!"

That did the trick.

"Now then," Makimura said, pushing up her glasses as she looked down onto the roster. "We have a new student joining us today. Please treat them kindly, okay?"

The door slid open slowly, revealing a person that Hayate hadn't expected. Sakuya Aizawa, wearing a crisp Hakuou Academy uniform, came in, smiling as he did so. After writing her name on the board, she turned to the class and bowed, "Hello everyone. I am Sakuya Aizawa. I hope we can all get along."

_'Sakuya-san can speak without an accent? Let alone act dignified!'_ Hayate though in shock.

Its called acting Hayate…really, read up on it sometime.

"Very good, Aizawa-san," Makimura said with a small smile. Turning to her notebook, she continued, "So it seems like Ginta Torimizu-kun won't be with us anymore, so why don't you take his seat for the time being? Its next to the Hayate Ayasaki, the boy with the effeminate face, blue hair, and wearing a white trench coat."

Said boy with the effeminate face, blue hair, and wearing a white trench coat was sweating bullets as the younger girl walked up to the seat next to him. "Pleasure to meet you, Ayasaki-san," she said, exteneding a hand. The butler found himself staring at her palm, or rather, the message on it.

'_We need to talk. Try and avoid me and your dead_.'

-(After Class)-

"What can I help you with, Sakuya-san?" Hayate asked as he led her through the crowed halls of Hakuou Academy, where everyone had given him space to walk by.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Sakuya started. "Its about-!"

"Hey, Hayate-kun!" a voice called from in front of them. The two looked up to see a girl with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and clad in a modified version of the Hakuou Academy uniform. Instead of a magenta colored blouse and pink skirt, it was black, held together at her chest with a wooden charm that had a obsidian stone in the center over a white skirt. Behind her was another girl in a red and white Shinto Priestess outfit, with her black hair tied back and a small set of glasses over her brown eyes.

"Marisa-san, Reimu-san," Hayate said, bowing slightly.

"Aw, come on Hayate-kun!" Marisa said, wrapping her arm around his neck. "Stop being so formal! We're all friends here, right?"

"Regardless," Reimu said, with a small sigh. "We were wondering if you were available after school today, Hayate-sama."

"I don't know yet," Hayate said, scratching his head. "It'll really depend on Ojou-sama and any requests that we get."

"Come on, Hayate-kun!" Marisa whined, pouting. "Have fun with us for once!"

"Well, if you do, just come to the shrine afterwards if you're available," Reimu said, snatching her blonde friend's ear, despite her protests.

After a few moments of silence, the two continued. "So who was that?" Sakuya asked.

"Marisa Hakurei and Reimu Kirisame," Hayate answered. "They're of Ojou-sama's relatives who also live on the estate."

"About that," Sakuya started. "What-!"

She was cut off again when Hayate stopped and raised his arm abruptly, causing her to bump into him, and led to a sputter of apologies. Her small tirade was cut off when she caught the look on his face; gone was the fake smile but instead one of fierce concentration.

"Hayate-han?" Sakuya asked, feeling a little nervous.

The tense atmosphere was shattered when a lone figure appeared in front of them, holding a giant katana whose blade was easily taller than the Aizawa heiress. Almost immediately, the changed butler lashed out his arms, causing two short swords to emerge from his sleeves like arm greaves and blocked the attack. The two struggled as each tried push each other down.

After a few seconds, Hayate retaliated with a front kick, pushing away the Mysterious attacker. Falling into his stance (his arms crossed with his right arm out front and his body slightly angled), he took a deep breath, and steeled his eyes on his opponent.

Unnerved by the kick to the stomach, the sword wielder leapt forward, swinging her oversized blade overhead, only to be blocked again by one blade. With his other hand, Hayate when for a strike, only for the smaller attacker to raise her arm and block, revealing a copper arm guard underneath the magenta cloth of the Hakuou Academy uniform.

As the two fell into deadlock again, Sakuya was able to get a good look at the girl. She about a head shorter than the butler, and with the uniform aside, the only distinguishing attribute was her hair, which was a pale white color, in contrast to her own grey, and a black headband that had a ribbon on her right side. Her green eyes were locked with Hayate's own blue.

Finally, Hayate broke the blade lock by retracting his right blade and punching the girl in the stomach. The girl's eyes widened in shock as she stumbled back, finally using her blade to keep her steady. The strange thing, though, was the fact that she was _blushing, _holding the spot where she was punched. Hayate kept his distance, but redrew his right arm blade.

"_Ningen no Chishiki no ken; Tenshi no Dansu!_"she suddenly cried out, swinging her blade faster than Sakuya could see. Blue waves of energy started to surround the blue haired butler and began to swarm him. Hayate didn't even look fazed, as he started to slashed away to dispel them. As he dispelled the last one, he looked at the girl, a bored look on his face.

"Come now, Youmu-chan," Hayate said, his voice mocking the girl. "Surely you can do better than this?"

"DIE! HAYATE AYASAKI!" the girl, now identified as Youmu, cried, rushing at him, her blade creating sparks as it trailed on the ground. Jumping up, she flipped forward several times, slowly getting speed with each rotation. Soon, she had become a blue ball of energy, albeit a spiky one, and came down on the butler, who merely raised both is arms in an 'X'-shape guard. As the blades clashed, a shower of golden and blue sparks flew all over, forcing all the students to take cover.

With a smirk, Hayate pushed her off, sending her into a tumbling heap. "How disappointing," he said, retracting his blades back into his vest. "But I suppose its time I finished this." Tapping his feet on the ground, a white circle spread from his heel, enveloping his form. White strands of mystical energy wrapped around his feet, forming silver boots. Crouching down, he leapt up, and performed a few flips before throwing himself at the Youmu, feet first.

"_Shinpi-tekina kaze: Shirubākikku!_" Hayate yelled, as his foot collided with Youmu's guard (her sword raised in a defensive way), somehow resulting in a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, the sword had someone went flying into one of the school's stone pillars, its end sticking out the other side, and Hayate holding the girl by her wrists, his boots gone.

"Hayate-sama," the girl whimpered, almost sensually (if the huge blush on her face was any indication). "Please…"

He twirled her around, putting her back against his chest. "You know the rule for losing, Youmu-chan," he whispered, practically in her ear.

(The crowd that had taken cover earlier came back to see the end, and most were blushing at what they were seeing now.)

"Please don't!" Youmu cried, struggling. "Anything but that!"

"Sorry," Hayate said, his eyes glinting and his voice sounding almost whimsical. "But rules are rules, right?" His right hand slowly went to her waist, in a snake like manner. Youmu was sporting the biggest blush humanly possible and struggled as hard as she could, crying out for help. Sakuya, who had actually been standing there the entire time, wanted to help, she really did, but couldn't bring herself to do anything.

Hayate's hand suddenly plunged down…

Sakuya started to cry out…

The crowd started to look shocked and disgusted…

With a swift motion, Hayate's hand went into the girl's dress pocket and pulled out a small box. Shaking it a bit to hear the shaking contents, he looked content as he pocketed it.

Everyone else, save for the girl in his arm, did a massive facefault.

* * *

_So...can anyone tell what references I used here?_


End file.
